(1) "Baseline average" means the average amount of water
withdrawn by a large-quantity user over a representative historical
time period as defined by the secretary.

(2) "Beneficial use" means uses that include, but are not
limited to, public or private water supplies, agriculture, tourism,
commercial, industrial, coal, oil and gas and other mineral
extraction, preservation of fish and wildlife habitat, maintenance
of waste assimilation, recreation, navigation and preservation of
cultural values.

(3) "Commercial well" means a well that serves small
businesses and facilities in which water is the prime ingredient of
the service rendered, including water wells drilled to support
horizontal well operations.

(4) "Community water system" means a public water system that
pipes water for human consumption to at least fifteen service
connections used by year-round residents or one that regularly
serves at least twenty-five residents.

(5) "Consumptive withdrawal" means any withdrawal of water
which returns less water to the water body than is withdrawn.

(6) "Department" means the West Virginia Department of
Environmental Protection.

(7) "Farm use" means irrigation of any land used for general farming, forage, aquaculture, pasture, orchards, nurseries, the
provision of water supply for farm animals, poultry farming or any
other activity conducted in the course of a farming operation.

(8) "Industrial well" means a well used exclusively for
nonpotable purposes, including industrial processing, fire
protection, washing, packing or manufacturing of a product
excluding food and beverages, or other nonpotable uses.

(9) "Interbasin transfer" means the permanent removal of water
from the watershed from which it is withdrawn.

(10) "Large-quantity user" means any person who withdraws over
three hundred thousand gallons of water in any thirty-day period
from the state's waters and any person who bottles water for resale
regardless of quantity withdrawn. "Large-quantity user" excludes
farm use, including watering livestock or poultry on a farm, though
farms may voluntarily report water withdrawals to assist with the
accuracy of the survey.

(11) "Maximum potential" means the maximum designed capacity
of a facility to withdraw water under its physical and operational
design.

(12) "Noncommunity nontransient water system" means a public
water system that serves at least twenty-five of the same persons
over six months per year.

(13) "Nonconsumptive withdrawal" means any withdrawal of water
which is not a consumptive withdrawal as defined in this section.

(14) "Person", "persons" or "people" means an individual,
public and private business or industry, public or private water
service and governmental entity.

(15) "Secretary" means the Secretary of the Department of
Environmental Protection or his or her designee.

(16) "Transient water system" means a public water system that
serves at least twenty-five transient people at least sixty days a
year.

(17) "Test well" means a well that is used to obtain
information on groundwater quantity, quality, aquifer
characteristics and availability of production water supply for
manufacturing, commercial and industrial facilities.

(18) "Water resources", "water" or "waters" means any and all
water on or beneath the surface of the ground, whether percolating,
standing, diffused or flowing, wholly or partially within this
state, or bordering this state and within its jurisdiction and
includes, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, natural
or artificial lakes, rivers, streams, creeks, branches, brooks,
ponds, impounding reservoirs, springs, wells, watercourses and
wetlands: Provided, That farm ponds, industrial settling basins and
ponds and waste treatment facilities are excluded from the waters
of the state.

(19) "Watershed" means a hydrologic unit utilized by the
United States Department of Interior's Geological Survey, adopted in 1974, as a framework for detailed water and related
land-resources planning.

(20) "Withdrawal" means the removal or capture of water from
water resources of the state regardless of whether it is
consumptive or nonconsumptive: Provided, That water encountered
during coal, oil, gas, water well drilling and initial testing of
water wells, or other mineral extraction and diverted, but not used
for any purpose and not a factor in low-flow conditions for any
surface water or groundwater, is not deemed a withdrawal.
Note: WV Code updated with legislation passed through the 2014 1st Special Session
The WV Code Online is an unofficial copy of the annotated WV Code, provided as a convenience. It has NOT been edited for publication, and is not in any way official or authoritative.